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Re: Getting baby back to breast. Please help

So I am feeling so defeated today. I spoke with an LC and she told me he definitely needed a bottle after nursing because he can't be getting enough from me especially by my pumping numbers. She said he is only getting a little more than what I am pumping and that he needs about 4oz per bottle right now. He only takes. 2.5-3 oz of formula a feeding and sometimes 4oz. Anyways I am pumping 1.5-2 oz pet session. That is both sides combined. So she said he can't be getting much more than that when he is nursing but I told her he wouldn't take a bottle afterwards sometimes. She said I need to come in and have him weighed before and after the feeding. So on Monday I am going to meet with the LC and let her weigh him. I am just so discouraged right now and she seems to think it isn't possible for me to get my supply up. I mean is it too late? He is 9wks now... I keep beating my self up for not continuing the way I should have when he was 4wks old. I should have never slowed down because I had plenty of milk then.

Re: Getting baby back to breast. Please help

Find a different lc if possible. Those are decent pumping numbers. A four oz bottle is too much if yourgoal is to get baby back to the breast. Small, frequent feedings are best. The before and after rights checks are a great idea though. Just remember that you need several to get a real accurate picture.

Re: Getting baby back to breast. Please help

That is the only lc around and I am having to travel 1.5hrs just to go see them. They will only weigh for 1 feeding though. Also I know he is eating like 2.5-3oz at a time at daycare. The daycare provider actually wanted me to up the flow of the bottle I think because she wants him to eat faster, but I said no. She has her hands really full so I think that is why. SHe has 2 newborns a 11 mo., a 21 mo. and a 3yr old. I also do not think she will change how she feeds him because of how much she has her hands full.
In the beginning i just felt like surely I can get my supply back but after talking with the LC and she didnt seem to think so since it was supply and demand not hormone driven anymore. I just am feeling so sad about this. The LC did say that domperidone was a safe option for me and baby but I am too scared to take it...i read a few people got an arythmia (heart arythmia) or something from it, and also that it can cause infertility. So that scared me. I also just ordered some more milk special blend it shoudl be here next week I guess.
Also my baby did not want to nurse yesterday when we got home from daycare. Or any that evening until the middle of the night. I dont know if he is having trouble after having the bottle all day but we had done sooooo good this weekend I was so proud and then nothing yesterday and no increas in supply so far this week.... I am so dicouraged and I thought we were doing so good.

Re: Getting baby back to breast. Please help

It sounds as if you are unhappy and feel unsupported now by your lactation consultant. I don't even understand what the point is about hormonal versus supply and demand. Yes it is true that the hormonal aspect of normal breast-feeding fades and then it becomes about supply and demand but that is why you can build your production by increasing demand as one method. I suggest not bothering to drive an hour and a half
Just for a before and after weight check. Driving that far to do a before and after nursing weight check when baby may not even nurse or it may not even tell you much does not seem productive at this point. I would strongly urge you to get the book making more milk if you have not done so. This was written by lactation consultants who are experts at increasing milk production and how mothers can navigate low production and continue to breast-feed if they wish to. As far as the safety of domperidone -I am not going to tell you it is safe or unsafe I'm only going to suggest that there is not a medication in the world that does not cause some issues for somebody. This includes many herbal remedies that people take without even thinking about it.

Re: Getting baby back to breast. Please help

Yes I am unhappy with her. I don't know if I will be seeing her or another LC at the weigh in visit there are several different ones in the practice but you dont know who your going to get. We have a breastfeeding peer counselor here at our wic office. She said she would see me on her lunch break and do a weigh ck then. She can't see me otherwise since I am not on wic. I don't have that book yet our library doesn't carry it like they did the other book. I will see if I can find it on amazon used . I am trying to stay positive about this. I think her telling me that there was no way he was getting enough from me to be satisfied even though I am offering a bottle afterwards and he won't take it and does not show hunger ques. Is what really set the tone because now I am worried that I starved him and that all he is really getting is the .5-1.5 oz per side that I can pump and that there is really no more than that in there. I felt like our progress was good and that bringing home 6-7 oz home from 3 sessions was good from where I began which was 1 oz between 3 sessions. I am just worried that I won't be able to get the supply up from here.

Re: Getting baby back to breast. Please help

A new copy of making more milk is $12.00 on Amazon. If you can not afford that, please pm me, I am sure we can figure out a way for you to get it.

There is no doubt you have made great progress. I don't believe in giving people false hope but it's not as if you have a physical issue preventing enough milk production. Just pumping regularly plus fenugreek has increased your output quite a bit in what-less than 2 weeks? Plus isn't baby nursing more often and with more satisfaction? That all still seems encouraging to me. And again it need not be all or nothing!

Can you get baby weighed frequently on an infant scale (the same one.) Frequent weight checks will tell you if baby is gaining appropriately.

Re: Getting baby back to breast. Please help

Ok so I got my book in the mail today. I read that if you stopped before 6 weeks it may not be possible to get a full supply back since one was never established. This makes me so sad since I basically stopped breastfeeding at 4.5 weeks.

I also just got the sns and used it for the first time yesterday. Baby did great with it. Even without the sns he is breastfeeding almost 100% of his feedings when he is with me before he gets a bottle as supplememnt. NOt sure how to do the bottle before breast thing you mentioned because its like he likes that faster flow.

I tried to do the whole weigh before and after a feednig but once we got to the doc office he refused to nurse so it was a big FAIL. I am also taking my more milk special blend(nasty tasting) havnt seen results yet but still hoping too. I am calling my OB today to talk to him about a prescription.

Re: Getting baby back to breast. Please help

i am sorry that made you sad. It's true, of course, that you may not get enough production for your baby's needs. It's also true that some mothers in a similar situation do get a full production-full meaning, enough for baby. It's also true that, even if a mom cannot exclusively breastfeed due to low production, some breastmilk is much better than none, and some breastfeeding is better than no breastfeeding. I am sure the book also talks about that. They are just explaining generally how milk production works and preparing moms with some biological facts, which I am pretty sure you already knew. I suggest keep reading and take in the good with the bad.

NOt sure how to do the bottle before breast thing you mentioned because its like he likes that faster flow.

If you can supplement with the sns, does baby still need a bottle when you are with baby? If you can avoid bottles as much as possible that might be helpful. Anyway, you would do it by giving baby a small amount with the bottle and then switch to the breast. You could try an instant reward technique if baby fusses at the switch.

Yes, it will appear that babies 'like' the fast flow of bottles because the milk comes with little or no effort. This is called flow preference, and it can be a big barrier when trying to bring a baby back to the breast. This is why it is so very important to try to prevent that-or train baby back to what is normal at the breast if flow preference has already occured. Having baby 'finish' at the breast is one technique that helps with this. I also suggest making sure everyone who gives your baby a bottle is doing paced bottle feeding as well. This is well described with illustrations on page 425 of the 8th Edition of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

Can you get your herbal galactagogues in a capsule form if you don't like the taste?

Re: Getting baby back to breast. Please help

It's fantastic that baby is starting out 100% percent of the time at the breast. That's a huge improvement over your original post. So don't let the book get you down too far. It's a possibility, not a definite. remember there are adoptive mothers who manage to bring in a full supply without that 'six week window'. I also want to echo meg in that it doesn't face to be all or nothing. Putting the straight nutrition aspect of it aside, you've gained back an amazing mothering tool, a n incomparable way to bond, and the best source of comfort baby can find. IRL, everyone I know has given up completely at the first struggle. Keep your head up! You're doing great mama.